Monday, August 20, 2012
Members of a new parliament in Somalia are being sworn in, but there will be no presidential election.The mandate for Somalia's U.N. mandate ended Monday, the day by which international backers had hoped a new presidential election would be held. But selection of a new, 275-member parliament has lagged behind schedule amid allegations of intimidation and corruption, and elections for a speaker of parliament and president are still several days away.
Some 225 people have been named to the 275-member parliament, and those members are to be sworn in Monday. When the full body is seated, elections will be held.
Somalia has been without a fully functioning government since 1991. The U.N. hopes the current political changes will help seat a government that can provide services to the people.